History

The site where the H.C. Coombs Centre for Financial Studies now stands originally housed
a guest house. However, following its acquisition by the Commonwealth Bank the building
was turned into a residential training college for staff.

The Reserve Bank inherited this building in 1960 as part of what
is known as ‘Separation’, referring to the separation of the Commonwealth Bank from
the Reserve Bank. From 1960 through to the 1980s, all of the Reserve Bank’s courses
were held at the training college. The size of the organisation’s staff and the number
of courses on offer meant that the college was used constantly, and given the number
of interstate staff employed by the Bank in the 1960s and ‘70s, almost all of the courses
were residential.

Up until the 1980s, the training college was maintained and run
by a small group of Reserve Bank staff. However, it was closed in 1986 and a major
re-build was undertaken, resulting in the Bank’s current training facility, the H.C.
Coombs Centre for Financial Studies.